ActionFest Countdown: What is ActionFest?

Hey there Movies.com readers, I’m Ed Travis, the Editor-In-Chief over at ActionFest.com. I’m excited to be bringing you some exclusive Movies.com columns over the coming months. Our goal is to bring you massive amounts of action movie updates as well as keep you in the know on developments at ActionFest, the world’s first international film festival dedicated entirely to action cinema, leading up to ActionFest 2012, April 12th-15th, in Asheville, NC. So, without further ado:

ActionFest 2012 – Huge Announcements!

So what is there to look forward to in 2012?

This year marks the inaugural Chick Norris (Best Female Action Star) Award, which will be given out to a female action star who embodies the spirit and character that Chuck himself values so highly. We are very excited to announce that the very first Chick Norris (Best Female Action Star) Award will be given to MMA Superstar Gina Carano (Haywire) who will accept the award in person at ActionFest 2012! Of Gina, Chuck Norris says, “I cannot think of a better person than Gina for this honor, and I am proud that she is the first to receive this award. I highly respect her martial arts ability and she deserves all her accolades for Haywire. Watch out world, a star is born. A proven fighter and very tough action star is here to stay.”

ActionFest attendees from years past have gotten opportunities to meet such distinguished award winners as Chuck Norris, Stunt Legend Buddy Joe Hooker, and action stars like Michael Jai White, Marko Zarror, and Trish Stratus. So we are excited to add Gina Carano and other (soon to be announced) action stars to that list!

And while we can’t announce anything from the lineup just yet, we can tell you that ActionFest has brought back Festival Director Colin Geddes, who programmed ActionFest 2011, and is most well known as the mad genius behind the programming of the Toronto Film Festival’s Midnight Madness series. Just look over last year’s lineup to get a taste of what Colin might have in store, and we promise to unveil a few choice titles as soon as they are locked.

Early Bird Tickets

We are also excited to launch sales of ActionFest badges! First up, there will be a limited number of Early Bird badges for sale at ActionFest.com beginning Friday, February 10th at 5PM EST. Early bird badge sales will only be available for a limited time, so pick them up before they run out! After early bird badges sell out, the website will begin sales for regularly priced ActionFest badges. And with badge sales we plan to unveil a few news items about the film lineup as well!

The Mission of ActionFest

ActionFest 2010 and 2011 really established the core of what ActionFest is all about: bringing the best worldwide action cinema to Asheville. With world, US, and regional premieres, as well as retrospective screenings, there will always be an incredible lineup of action cinema ranging from martial arts to independent genre-benders to huge Hollywood spectacles. Just check out our past line ups here and here.

But ActionFest has also made a name for itself by presenting attendees and the whole city of Asheville with a kick ass live stunt show! From high falls to repelling, fight scenes and skydiving, extreme motocross and flaming stuntmen; ActionFest brings the real live action. Check out some of the photos on the ActionFest Facebook page.

Lastly, but possibly most importantly, is that ActionFest shines the spotlight on the unsung workhorses of the film industry: The stunt professionals. ActionFest offers an awards ceremony and will present stunt professionals with lifetime achievement awards as well as annual honors. At ActionFest, we believe that stunt performers deserve a lot more credit than they receive. And we are all about honoring men and women of action.

The ActionFest blog is active and cranking out regular articles, reviews, trailers, and more. So check out our blog, Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and get yourselves on a plane to Asheville April 12-15, 2012!

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